A Ten Year Old Boy Gets It…

Will Phillips, a ten year-old boy from Arkansas last week began a sort of “Pledge of Allegiance” strike, saying that he will not say the Pledge until there is truly “liberty and justice for all.” For Will, that includes the ability for same-sex couples to get married. There is a little snippet about it in the Huffington Post including a video.

After reading the article and watching the video, it is apparent that this kid gets it. By that I don’t mean – he gets the reason why marriage is such a hot button issue, why it can be an important piece of a larger puzzle on the road to equality. He evidently does; he has thought long and hard about it. More importantly he gets the “thinking” part.

What a refreshing thing to see.. on mainstream media no less! Even more refreshing was Phillips’ father, who said that after having a reaction to the subtitute teacher’s side of the story, he put his anger away so that he could talk with his son. I don’t know about you, but where I come from until you are well into your teens there is no-one who wants to hear your opinion, thoughts, etc. On the contrary the very idea of doing something so radical as to exercise your constitutional rights for what you truly believe in is often seen as unpatriotic, seditious and deviant – and not only when you are a child. Three cheers to the Phillips family for giving their son the room to be a dynamic individual with his own thoughts and beliefs, even if they are other than those around him.

Will understands as many of us probably understood at his age and earlier, that when you think for yourself, when you really take the time to chew on a question and come up with your own valid opinions, convictions and beliefs – it ultimately benefits everyone. Why? Because it takes the filters and background noise away and allows us to see others as they truly are. If I concern myself with being the best I can be – from my heart, I will always want that to be the experience for everyone.